Silvercup Project Gets Board 2 Approval
BY THOMAS COGAN

Community Board 2's April meeting was held on the third floor of the Citibank Tower in Long Island City and was concerned with the issue of the Silvercup Studios project. This is the commercial and residential complex that is proposed for construction in Long Island City on the banks of the East River. The river and the Queensboro Bridge provide natural or undeniable borders for the project, while the political boundaries are Vernon Boulevard and 43rd Avenue. Within that space, which currently contains barren acres, heaps of industrial detritus and an impressive old building that is being preserved with elaborate respect, the great project would be fulfilled. At the Board 2 meeting, which lasted a good three hours, it was described by a battery of persons with illustrations, charts and earnest determination. Then it was endorsed at great length by experts, officials and citizens while being criticized or denigrated only briefly. When it came time for the board's decision, a motion full of reservations and stipulations about matters such as signage and affordable residences prepared the way for final approval.

Photo Vinny DuPre A successful space is one that's well-attended, calling for the spark of human interaction. It is intended that such an ideal be fulfilled in Terra Cotta Plaza, to be built around the old New York Terra Cotta building pictured above..

The Silvercup project has arrived at its present state through several zoning arrangements that proponents say are all in the cause of business, residential and neighborhood improvement. The floor-area ratio (FAR) of the residential building could be as high as 10 but may be limited to 8 FAR, though it is popularly assumed that 1,000 apartments will be built, with a parking capacity of 1,400 cars for both residents and workers. According to Marcie Kesner, a spokeswoman for one of the companies working on the project, waivers for several matters are necessary if the project's designers are to bypass restricting regulations. She said that certain tree planting needed a waiver because regulations required trees be planted in a straight line and the designers seek to stray form the straight and narrow a little when they plant. A waiver was needed for a sculpture installation and another for lighting installed in benches; in the latter instance, designers are attempting something less conventional than mounted lighting. One border of the project, 43rd Avenue, runs to termination between Vernon Boulevard and the river. That segment was mapped by the city in 1939 but was never opened, Kesner said. It is officially required that if ever opened, the street should slope to the river's edge. It is being opened with the project, but the builders have a waiver to have the street run in a steady plateau-though David Rubin, landscape architect on the project, said it would be a tree-lined street that would have a view focused on the water's edge. That is only a hint of the pains that must be taken, well in advance of actual construction. Rubin told the meeting, "A successful space is one that's well-attended," calling for the "spark of human interaction." He intends that such an ideal be fulfilled in Terra Cotta Plaza, to be built around the old New York Terra Cotta building. The building is a considerable distance from the river, in what Rubin called the upland area, and one of the features of the park would be a 16-foot wide pedestrian pathway down to the river. It would be paved in terra cotta and have two levels.

Impressive descriptions and idealistic declarations can still be questioned, and questions and commentaries were first reserved for Board 2 members. One of them feared that buildings more than 500 feet in height would block sunlight, but Silvercup spokesman said the buildings' big shadows would be cast only where shadows already exist. Another one asked about schools and hospital services to accommodate the residents of those 1,000 apartments. The hospital question seems to be one nobody anywhere is answering, and the school question was answered by reference to statistical survey that shows the new population influx will have little impact on local schooling. A middle school may be built a few blocks down the boulevard, within the so-called PepsiCola site, Board Chairman Joseph Conley said. The question of access to transportation elicited the reply that subway and elevated train service is within walking distance; hiking distance might have been a better answer. More plausible was the build-it-and-they-willcome expectation regarding bus service, since existing lines could be routed to the complex to serve both residents and business workers. The most anxious question of all, about the cost of residential living, revealed that the allocation of rental apartments, co-operatives and condominiums has not yet been determined. All housing would follow market rates, however. The possibilities for cultural enhancement were hinted at and amenities may eventually emerge, but in fact there are no definite plans for theaters or museums at the moment. Questions from those present other than board members included inquiries about where visitors to the grand riverfront place might park their cars. The plan is to have garage space available on weekends, when business motorists are not using it. It is currently foreseen that during the week, about 600 of 1,400 parking spaces would be used for business.

The public commentary phase drew a parade of enthusiastic support from, among others, developers, union officials, artists, clergymen and theatrical people, one of whom said that she had long heard some persons say that if the East River waterfront were developed, we would see how good Queens could be. "Well, here's the chance," she concluded. A more cautionary voice advised that that 1,400-capacity parking garage be restricted to alternate fuel and hybrid vehicles, while a denunciatory one, that of environmental activist Ann Egan, said the market rate for residential expense would disqualify everyone but the rich. Her affection was lacking altogether; she said the buildings as illustrated reminded her of the Time-Warner Building, "that horror on Columbus Circle."

On the other hand, Lisa Deller, head of the Board 2 Land Use Committee, said, "There are a lot of good things in this project." The chief architect, Sir Richard Rogers, is world-renowned (his other projects include the Pompidou Centre in Paris and Canary Wharf in London) and the effort of all Silvercup's creators would set a precedent for future projects, she added. There were some conditions, though, that should go into the motion for approval before the entire board. The committee recommended that there should somehow be a measure of affordable housing among the residences. (Someone said that of the 13,000 or so apartments projected for construction between the Queensboro Bridge and Newtown Creek, none so far could be called affordable.) In addition, a film school should be part of the project, since Silvercup is such a creative hub. A detailed description was included of how much signage is allowable and what dimensions it should assume. There is a lot of worry about this, particularly if, as many assume, Home Box Office, producer of "The Sopranos" and other notable television shows emanating from Silvercup, is to take up enough of the commercial building's office space to put its name on it.

Thus conditioned, the motion went before the board, whose members were asked to vote for all of it or none of it. Only one person voted no entirely, though two abstained; thus, Silvercup was victorious. As a last measure, the board voted, by a unanimous show of raised hands, to approve the liquor license renewal of another Long Island City institution, the Waterfront Crabhouse, at 2-03 Borden Ave.